Crime

ATLANTA -- Two people were arrested after hitting and killing a pedestrian in Downtown Atlanta Saturday afternoon.

It happened shortly before 1 p.m., as the victim tried to cross Trinity Avenue near Peachtree Street.

Atlanta Police spokesman Greg Lyon said the pedestrian, 56-year-old Darathe Buckner, was hit by a 1995 Ford Mustang. He was pronounced dead at Grady Memorial Hospital.

After striking Buckner, the two people inside the car jumped out and ran away. They were arrested at a business in the 1900 block of Metropolitan Parkway after they called 911 and tried to report the Mustang stolen.

Police charged Antavious Lowe with first-degree homicide by vehicle, felony hit and run, and failure to yield. Jungki Kim was charged with giving false statements. Both suspects were taken to the Fulton County Jail.

ATLANTA -- A man and a woman are both in critical condition after being shot multiple times each in Downtown Atlanta Friday morning.

Police received a call about the shooting at around 2 a.m. The victims were discovered inside a Lincoln Navigator in a parking lot near the intersection of Trinity Avenue and Peachtree Street. A police report stated they were each shot at least three times.

The victims were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. Their condition was described as critical but stable.

The suspect ran from the scene and has not been caught or identified, although a witness told police the man is known as Joe. The witness described Joe as a black man wearing a white T-shirt, light blue plaid shorts, and a light blue hat. After shooting the victims, he ran toward Pryor Street.

ATLANTA -- The search for a stolen American Medical Response ambulance ended with a crash in southeast Atlanta. The driver ran off in to the early morning darkness to hide in the bushes, until a police dog sniffed him out.

The ambulance, which operates out of DeKalb County, was parked at Grady Memorial Hospital when it was taken just before 3 a.m. Tuesday. Police said an EMS driver was cleaning the rear of the running vehicle when a suspect, 38-year-old Jermaine McCommons, jumped inside and drove away.

Grady Memorial Hospital officials used a GPS device inside the ambulance to track it and relay its location to police. Atlanta Police Capt. Terrell Griffin said McCommons drove the ambulance from Atlanta to Cobb County. Investigators followed, but canceled the chase when the speed became excessive.

ATLANTA -- A former janitorial services manager has pleaded guilty in federal court to accepting bribes in exchange for government contracts.

Patrick Jackson, 56, of Loganville was indicted last September. He was investigated by both the FBI and GBI.

Jackson worked simultaneously for two government entities -- DeKalb County and Atlanta's Georgia World Congress Center -- between 2006 and 2012. Before then, he worked for a company referred to in the indictment as Company A.

According to information presented in court, Jackson used his position and influence to secure government contracts for Company A with both DeKalb County and the GWCC. He also lived in a luxury Atlanta apartment paid for and furnished by Company A. Jackson did not tell his employers about each other or about his ties to Company A.

Marina Magvrone Davis, 24, was convicted of 11 counts of theft by taking and one count of violating Georgia's RICO Act.

The defendant was responsible for processing Georgia Aquarium customers' credit card refunds. Between February 2012 and January 2013, Davis processed about 114 fraudulent refunds to more than a dozen debit cards linked to bank accounts she opened with her roommate, 25-year-old Ebone Curtisha Ray.

A Georgia Aquarium manager discovered the discrepancies after Davis quit her job, according to prosecutors. The aquarium hired a forensic accounting firm to investigate.

A Fulton County Superior Court judge sentenced Davis to 20 years, with four to serve in prison. She must also pay $110,000 in restitution, and is not allowed to pursue a trust or fiduciary job during her sentence.

(ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE) -- Safety is a top concern for people planning to relocate to a new city. Luckily, the national research firm ValuePenguin crunched the numbers in an attempt to determine which areas of Georgia are the safest and most dangerous.